Rockets post another buzzer-beating win to beat Mt. Zion

MT. ZION -- Brittney Spears' Oops! I did it again might have to be the Unity girls basketball team's new theme song. Earlier this week Lauren Miller hit a 3-point shot at the buzzer to give Unity a 45-44 win over Bloomington Central Catholic.

On Friday, sophomore Katey Moore dropped in a buzzer-beater of her own to give the Rockets a 45-43 non-conference win on the road at Mt. Zion.

Despite three Lady Braves players finishing with double figures, Unity's unrelenting defensive effort and tenacity proved to be a better asset in yet another thrilling finish.

In his all of his years coaching high school basketball, head coach Dave Ellars has never won two games in the same seven-day stretch with a shot as time expired. His team improved to 18 wins against five losses after the victory.

"We won Monday, lost on Thursday, won on Friday," Ellars said. "The girls I have are winners, played on the 4th place state softball, ran on state championship cross country team, went to state track, played on Volleyball team that won 30 matches. We have a lot of confidence that if we get behind we can come back."

Raegen Stringer led Unity's scoring effort with 12 points. Maddie Reed also finished with double digits piling on another 11 points. The pair contributed three assists apiece.

Meanwhile, Moore and senior Taylor Henry hauled in a combined total of 21 rebounds. Moore, who also had three blocks and the same number of steals in the contest, recorded 10 of those boards. Henry led the effort with 11 rebounds and two steals in addition to her nine-point finish.

Unity's Lauren Miller was also active in the paint, pulling down four rebounds and poaching two steals. She finished with six points and three assists against the Lady Braves.

Denver Anderson led the Braves with 12 points, Bracie Barnes added another 11, and Karsyn Sloan rounded out her team's top three contributors with 10 points.

Unity returns to their conference schedule to host Pontiac tomorrow evening at the Rocket Center. The JV contest starts at 5:30pm and the varsity game is slated to start directly after.

Box Score

Final: Unity 45 - Mount Zion 43

  1 2 3 4 F
Unity 12 8 13 12 45
Mount Zion 9 15 14 5 43

Unity --
Ray 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Flesch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Renfrow 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Miller 2 (0) 2-4 -- 6, Steinman 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Stringer 5 (0) 2-1 -- 12, Moore 3 (0) 1-3 -- 7, Reed 0 (3) 2-4 -- 11, Alagna 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, T. Henry 1 (1) 4-8 -- 9, Chandler 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, B. Henry 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0,

Mount Zion --
Schmahl 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Becker 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Flemming 4 (0) 0-1 -- 8, Sommer 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Meons 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Rockey 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Kendall 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Barnes 5 (0) 1-2 -- 11, Scharf 0 (3) 1-2 -- 10, Anderson 3 (1) 3-5 -- 12, 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, () - -- 0, () - -- 0,

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Photo Gallery | St. Joseph-Ogden girls defeat Unity at home to win IPC title

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity's Lauren Miller blocks a shot from St. Joseph-Ogden's Ashlyn Lannert during the first half of their Illini Prairie Conference game on Saturday. With home court advantage, the Spartans won the contest 49-27 to clinch the Illini Prairie Conference title. Miller finished the game with six points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Rockets.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Unity head coach Dave Ellars reminds his players to keep their arms up during second quarter play against the Spartans.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Keep the ball away from Unity's Erika Steinman, Addison Frick secures a loose ball for the Spartans during the first half of the game. The sophomore guard finished the game with six points.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO's Ella Armstrong goes after the ball for a steal from Rockets' Addison Ray. Armstrong finished with a game-high 12 points for the Spartans. Ray, who went of 0-2 from the free throw line, contributed one field goal in Unity's loss and finished with a hard-fought five rebounds.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Katey Moore hauls in a offensive rebound for the Rockets. The senior guard chipped in six of the team's 27 points.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

St. Joseph-Ogden senior Ashlyn Lannert tries to put a shot up over Unity's Katey Moore during the fourth quarter. Lannert finished the night with two points drained back in the first quarter of the contest.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Spartans' Ella Armstrong puts up a fourth-quarter shot on Unity's Lauren Miller. Armstrong, a senior, was the only player to score in all four quarters of the game on Saturday.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Rocket's Addison Ray looks to make a pass after coming up with a loose ball in the fourth quarter. Unity dropped to 20-8 overall and 6-3 in conference play after the loss to the Spartans. Ray and the Rockets hope to correct their three-game skid against 18-10 Monticello tonight at 7pm.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Kaytlyn Baker drives past Unity's Erika Steinman into the paint. Baker came off the bench late in the final quarter contributing a free throw to the Spartan's cause. The St. Joseph-Ogden girls team is back in action tonight against the Panthers of Paxton-Buckley-Loda (11-16) in their final IPC game of the season.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity senior Gracie Renfrow congratulates SJO players and staff on their win on Saturday.

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Prep Notebook | All four area teams take one on the chin Saturday

The St. Joseph-Ogden girls basketball team didn't score a single point the first quarter of their road game against Teutopolis in their non-conference game on Saturday. By the end of the first half, Taylor Wells led SJO's scoring effort in the 43-27 loss to the Lady Wooden Shoes on Saturday.

After the final buzzer, it was Payton Jones and her team-high 10 points, all earned in the second half, that was the only bright spot for the Spartans (7-4). SJO received another six points from Ashlyn Lannert.

Still at #2 in the Illini Prairie Conference, St. Joseph-Ogden plays #4 Monticello, in a three-way tie with St. Thomas More and Olympia, at the new Arthur “Buz” Sievers Center tomorrow night.


Katey Moore big on the boards

Unity's Katey Moore was responsible for 12 of her team's 30 rebounds in their 51-40 loss at Tuscola on Saturday. Senior Chloee Reed led the Rockets charge with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Maddie Reed added nine points to the cause with a three-pointer in each of the first three quarters. Meanwhile Lauren Miller tallied 7 rebounds and four assists for the team. She finished with seven points to round out the top Unity scorers.

The Lady Warriors had three players in double figures. Erica Boyer turned in a game-high 16 points with Sophie Kremitzki and Marissa Russo each adding another 13 points apiece in the victory on their home court.


Kimball has another big game

Unity's Blake Kimball scored 24 points in the team's 64-54 loss at home on Saturday to Tuscola. Nate Drennan, who was quiet in the final quarter, managed to finish with nine points and Austin Langendorf buried four field goals for eight points.

The Warriors were led in scoring by Jalen Quinn who poured in 28 points the last three quarters of the contest. Tuscola also had a double-digit performance out of Josiah Hortin with four treys.


Spartans split weekend bill

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys basketball team dropped their home game on Saturday to Teutopolis, 69-48. The loss comes after a dominating 81-58 win over Olympia in Illini Prairie Conference action less than 24 hours earlier. The Spartans are on the road again this Tuesday in a conference game against Monticello.

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Volleyball team's road to state blocked, Unity falls 2-1 in nailbiter against Monticello

Heading into Thursday's regional title match against Monticello, the #1 seeded Unity volleyball team enjoyed a six-match win streak and hadn't lost a match in 19 days. The clear favorite, with a 33-3 record to back it up, the Rockets suffered an unexpected, bittersweet ending in an otherwise promising postseason run in a 2-1 loss to the Sages.

Senior Maddie Reed makes a pass in the last match of her prep career during the Unity's regional title match against Monticello last Thursday. The Rockets, who beat the Sages earlier in the season 2-0, lost to the Sages on their home court at the Rocket Center, 2-1.
(Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
It was clear from the get-go that fans from both teams were in for a gritty dog fight between the two Illini Prairie rivals.

"This is one of their rivals outside of St. Joe, I suppose. They were ready for that," said Unity first-year head coach Erika Yerry about her squad, which featured seven battle-tested seniors. Given the proximity of the two schools and their blooming rivalry, she anticipated a deafening and highly-charged match environment. "They were expecting that. We knew there would be a lot of fans and a lot of screaming."

What the Rockets were not prepared for were Monticello's tenacity and grit.

Yerry said, "We were ready for the battle. I don't think we ready for them to push us as much as they did."

Unity trailed on the scoreboard for the first 25 points in the opening set. Down by three at 14-11, Yerry called a timeout. Soon after, the Rockets pieced together a four-point run to tie things up at 17-all. A return error on the next serve gave the Rockets their first lead in the set.

There would be two more lead changes before the Sages prevailed, 25-23.

Yerry was not overly concerned after losing the first set by two points.

"I wasn't worried. I was more upset about some of the mistakes that we made," she said. "We just had way too many unforced errors in the first set and Monticello only beat us by two. We cleaned that up in the second set and then the third set was just a dogfight."

Behind Emma Bleecher's down-the-line kills and cross-courters from Katey Moore Unity took the second set easily, 25-11. Unfortunately, the shift in energy and momentum for the Rockets did not last.

(Left to right) Unity's Reagan Little, Ruby Tarr, Julia Ping, Jayci McGraw, an unidentified player and Katey Moore cheer for teamates after winning a point in the second set of their Class 2A regional title match. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

Before two teams entered the deciding third set, Monticello head coach Kim Allison delivered a message to her team that they took to heart.

"I told them: 'Go out there and put everything out on the court. Be competitive all the way through and truly believe you can beat Unity.'"

Allison told the Sages to focus on how they played in the opening set and to take the energy back out on the floor.

"It was nice to be able to say it 'it's a whole new match,'" she told her players. "Think about how you came out that first set. That's the way we're coming out this set."

Yerry had a different message for her squad between the second and third set of the evening.

"I thought we would be more in-system, be more in rhythm going into set three," she said. "But, you can never underestimate Monticello. I told them to be ready and that they would come out firing."

Unity senior Taylor Henry serves the ball during third set action against the Sages. (Photo: PhotoNews Media)
Monticello won the first three points in the final set, but the Rockets held their ground working their way back to their only lead of the game at 4-3. The Sages then scored six unanswered points to go up 9-4 for their largest lead of the do-or-die set.

With a renewed sense of urgency, Rockets' Macie Knudsen and Taylor Henry intensified their play. The burst of energy helped the Rockets outscore Monticello 7-1 and trail by one at 12-11. Bleecher & Co. would get within one to tie three more times but the Sages repelled their efforts each time to win the final set, 25-20.

"We played a tough Monticello team. I don't think we were ready for their defense on every single ball," Yerry said after her first season at Unity came to an unexpected close. "As the rallies go longer and longer, you get more and more tired, and you start to make mistakes. I think that threw us for a loop a little bit."

While their prep career had come to an end, she said three of her seniors plan to play at the collegiate level and were ready to "move on to the next step." Without their dedication, work ethic, and leadership the Rockets would not have concluded their season with an impressive 33-4 finish.

"Overall, our season was amazing," Yerry said.

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Henry and Moore perfect from the line at home game

TOLONO - The Unity girls basketball team return to action in 2022 posting a home win over Paxton-Buckley-Loda, 37-25.

Taylor Henry takes a shot

Taylor Henry takes shot in the Rockets' home game against Clinton in November. The senior just missed a double-double on Thursday night scoring 10 points and hauling in eight rebounds against visiting PBL.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
With the score at the intermission 12-11 in favor of the Rockets, both teams struggled to score in the first half. While the Panthers took the floor and continued to struggle, the Unity girls found their stride and outscored their opponent 25- 11.

Katey Moore walked away from the Illini Prairie Conference game with four blocks and nine rebounds for the Rockets. Draining all four of her free-throw attempts against the Panthers, the sophomore finished the night with 10 points.

She shared game-high scoring honors with senior Taylor Henry, who was 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. Henry was also credited with 2 steals along with eight boards in her 10-point finish.

Despite finishing with just four points, junior Lauren Miller tallied five steals and five rebounds for the Rockets.

Emily Robidoux and Lorena Arnett finished with five points apiece for Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

Box Score

Final: Unity 37 - Paxton-Buckley-Loda 25

  1 2 3 4 F
Unity 3 9 10 15 0
PBL 3 8 9 5 0

Unity --
Miller 2-2-4, Steinman 2-0-2, Stringer 4-0-8, Reed 3-0-3, Henry 4-6-10, Moore 6-4-10

Paxton-Buckley-Loda --
M. Johnson 2-0-2, T. Johnson 0-3-3, Arnett 3-2-5, Bruns 2-0-2, Frichtl 2-2-4, Rubidoux 5-0-5, Ecker 4-0-4

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Henry has strong game against Prairie Central

Prairie Central capitalized on five three-pointers in the second quarter to surge past the Unity in their Illini Prairie Conference game back on February 20. The Rockets taking another loss on the chin, lost at home, 55-33.

Taylor Henry led the team with 10 points and 10 rebounds in the weekender. Head coach Dave Ellars said she continues build on her role has a future team leader.

"Taylor is a winner; she will do what ever it takes for the team," he said. "She sees the floor well and does a great job of reading the defense."

Meanwhile, the team lone senior, Chloee Reed, finished with a team-high 12 points. She packaged one steal, three boards and two assists as best she could to help keep the game competitive as possible.

Another Unity player showing signs of making great strides in contributing to the team effort is freshman Katey Moore. Despite having to train in a crazy pandemic restricted year, she has made steady improvement as first year varsity player for the Rockets.

"Katey is very athletic and is always working on ways to improve," Ellars said. His plebe player scored 7 points and added the same number of boards to her Saturday afternoon stats. "As a freshman she is learning the speed of the game at the varsity level and has adjusted."

Erika Steinman, who had one steal and credited with two rebounds, was the only other Unity player to make a scoring contribution with four points.

The visiting Hawks were paced by Mariya Sisco's four treys and 16 points outing. Sister Chloe Sisco was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and good for 12 points. Senior Natalie Graf chipped another six points to round out the team's top three scorers.

Box Score

Prairie Central 19 15 13 8 - 55
Unity 12 4 8 9 - 33

Unity
C. Reed 3 (2) 0-0 -- 12, England 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Renfrow 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Miller 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Stringer 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Steinman 2 (0) 0-0 -- 4, B. Henry 0 (0) 0-2 -- 0, M. Reed 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Moore 3 (0) 1-2 -- 7, Alagna 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, T. Henry 4 (0) 2-5 -- 10, Flesch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.


Prairie Central
C. Sisco 1 (2) 4-4 -- 12, Davies 0 (1) 1-2 -- 4, Kafer 1 (0) 2-6 -- 4, Stork 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Edelmen 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, M. Sisco 2 (4) 0-0 -- 16, C. Strong 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5, Wilkey 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Graf 0 (1) 3-4 -- 6, Collins 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2, Buff 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2, WhitFill 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Grayburg 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2.

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Miller leads Unity over Monticello at Tip-off

Gibson City -- Katey Moore went 2-for-2 from the free-throw line and had five rebounds for the Rockets in their pool game against Monticello at the Lady Falcon/Bunnie Tip-Off Classic. Unity beat the Sages 37-28 in their first meeting of the 2021 season. More also led the team in steals with four to her name.

Starter Lauren Miller led all scorers with a game-high nine points.

Taylor Henry also delivered five rebounds to the Rockets' cause and came up with three steals. She finished the game with five points. Meanwhile, Maddie Reed hit two second-quarter treys to help send the Rockets into the locker room tied at the break. Reed finished the game with her six points along with four boards and three assists.

Starting guard Erika Steinman had one 3-pointer and capped the night with seven points. Raegan Stringer came off the bench to chip in four points in the second half.

Hannah Swanson led Monticello on the scoreboard with eight points. Renni Fultz added another seven points in the nine-point loss.


Box Score

Unity 37 - Monticello 28

Unity -
Miller 4-1-9, Steinman 7-0-7, Stringer 2-0-4, Moore 2-2-6, Reed 6-0-6, Henry 1-3-5.
Totals: 22-6-37

Monticello -
Swanson 2-4-8, Fultz 3-1-7, Hicks 1-1-3, Stiverson 3-0-6, Burger 2-0-4.
Totals: 11-6-28

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Rocket girls basketball team suffer first loss of the season

PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity's Katey Moore and Clinton's MaKayla Koeppel fight for ball possession in the second of their non-conference game in the Rocket Center on Monday. Moore and the Rockets (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season, dropping the home opener 38-20 in front of a small, but supportive crowd to the visiting Maroons (4-1). Next, Unity goes on the road to take on Cissna Park this evening.
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Rockets pull off rally to win on Miller buzzer-beater

TOLONO -- Looking at a 15-point deficit with 5:15 left to go in the third quarter against an aggressive Bloomington Central Catholic team, the Unity girls' basketball team was going to have to wait a few days for that 18th win of the season. The Saints almost had the door shut until the Rockets clawed their way back into the game to trail by two with 1:05 left to play in the game.

Forty seconds later, Unity got possession of the ball on a rebound after Central Catholic missed a free throw and called time out. The last 21 seconds of the game are worth watching over and over.

After getting the ball past the half-court line, a couple of passes put the ball in the hands of Unity's Lauren Miller at the top of the key. Miller dribbled past three BCC defenders for a layup under the basket and missed. Teammate Raegan Stringer chases down the rebound and tosses the ball back to Miller.

Miller and every fan in the Rocket Center watched the ball after she launched it from in front of the Rockets' bench back in three-point territory. As the ball passed through the net, the backboard lit up. And then the final buzzer sounded. The junior guard was then mobbed and deservingly while head coach Dave Ellars celebrated with three victory hops, arms high above his head. The junior guard had just sealed the Unity's come-from-behind effort with the double-U, 45-44.

Dropping in 14 points for the night, Taylor Henry was the Rockets' leading scorer. The senior also had four rebounds and was credited with three steals.

Katey Moore, who had a solid night defensively, also finished the game in double figures with 12 points. The talented sophomore nabbed five boards and slapped down four shots in addition to her two assists and a team-high four steals.

Raegan Stringer and Maddie Reed rounded out the top three scorers for Unity with six points apiece. Stringer, whose rebound and pass helped make the game-winning shot possible, contributed four rebs and four assists to the comeback effort. Reed's six-point effort was from two 3-point shots converted in the third period.

The Rockets play their next two games on the road this week. Thursday, the team travels to Prairie Central for a conference match with the Hawks. Twenty-four hours later, Unity is back on the road again, this time to Mt. Zion.

Box Score

Final: Unity 45 - Central Catholic 44

  1 2 3 4 F
Unity 7 10 15 13 45
Central Catholic 8 16 17 3 44

Unity --
Ray 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Flesch 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Renfrow 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Miller 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5, Steinman 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Stringer 3 (0) 0-0 -- 6, Moore 5 (0) 2-3 -- 12, Reed 0 (2) 0-0 -- 6, Alagna 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, T. Henry 5 (0) 4-6 -- 14, Chandler 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, B. Henry 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.

Central Catholic --
M. Uhren 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2, Evans 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Becker 3 (0) 1-4 -- 7, S. Shanks 0 (1) 4-4 -- 7, Schnierle 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5, C Uhren 0 (0) 2-4 -- 2, L. Shanks 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2, L. Emm 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, E. Stenger 5 (2) 1-3 -- 17, I. Metzdorff 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0.

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Stringer scores 13 in Rockets' win over LeRoy

Raegan Stringer delivered a 13-point performance in Unity's road game at LeRoy on Monday. Jumping out to a 20-point lead in the first half, the Rockets improved to 5-0 on the season after a 48-32 non-conference win over the Panthers.

Stringer, a sophomore, also had three rebounds and a pair of steals.

Maddie Reed, Lauren Miller, Taylor Henry, and Katey Moore combined effort netted 33 points for the Rockets.

Reed contributed 10 points, three assists, and like Stringer, two steals. Miller also grabbed the ball twice for steals and was the second leading rebounder for Unity with five boards. She was also credited with six assists to go along with her nine-point finish.

Scoring just eight points, Henry led the team with team-highs in rebounds (6), steals (4), and assists (6). Moore added another six points in the victory and had three rebounds. Like four of her teammates, she was credited with two steals, too.

The undefeated Rockets host their first home game on Monday when the Clinton Maroons invade the Rocket Center. A junior varsity game will start the evening with the varsity game to follow.

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Photo of the Day - November 29, 2021

(Left to right) Unity's Reagan Little, Ruby Tarr, Julia Ping, Jayci McGraw, an unidentified player and Katey Moore cheer for teamates after winning a point in the second set of their Class 2A regional title match. Their joy would later turn to disappointment despite having home court and crowd advantage. After splitting the first two sets, the #1 seeded Rockets came up short in the third, 25-20, falling after a hard-fought set to the #5 seed Sages. Unity finishes the season 33-4 under first-year head coach Erika Yerry. (PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)
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Prep Sports Notebook: Rockets pick up two basketball wins, SJO celebrates all-conference players

Kimball averages 10pts a quarter

Senior Blake Kimball scored 31 points in the first three quarters of Unity's game at Arcola on Monday. Kimball's strong performance, along with Will Cowan's 12 points in the last three periods, the boys' basketball team won the away game, 69-41.

Jacob Maxwell hauled in 10 boards for the Rockets and Cale Rawdin snagged another seven for the cause.

Despite a scoreless first quarter against the Rockets, Arcola saw a balanced scoring effort with points from eight players. Beau Edwards led the Purple Riders' offense with 10 points.

SJO girls fall short on the road

Peyton Jones goes up for a shot in SJO's Turkey Tournament game against Centennial. The junior sunk five three-pointers at Mahomet-Seymour on Monday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
St. Joseph-Ogden's Peyton Jones had a huge night against Mahomet-Seymour hitting five treys and finishing with a team-high 19 points. Unfortunately, it was enough as the Spartans fell to the host Bulldogs, 58-46.

Payton Jacob and Ashlyn Lannert came alive in the fourth quarter to finish the night with eight points apiece.

The Bulldogs' Cayla Koerner led all scorers with 26 points. The 5-5 senior buried four three-pointers and was 6-for-8 from the free throw line against SJO.


Rockets pick up road win at Urbana

Erika Steinman and Lauren Miller scored eight points each in Unity's road game at Urbana. Raegen Stringer and Katey Moore chipped in another six apiece in the Rockets' 43-22 non-conference win.

Taylor Henry led the squad with a team-high 12 rebounds and a pair of assists. The Rockets also saw good rebounding numbers from Hailey Flesch (6), and Miller (5), also credited with four steals.

Stringer distributed six assists and harassed the Tigers taking the ball away with three steals.

Mboyo-Meta leads all scorers

Urbana's Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta scored a game-high 10 points against visiting Unity. Five other players contributed to the Tigers' 43-22 loss at home to the Rockets. Zineria Edwards was the second-leading scorer on her team with five points on Monday.

Urbana travels to Peoria on Thursday to face the Lions in their den and then host Peoria Manual on Saturday in Oscar Adams Gym at 2:30pm.

Wrestling results wanted

High school and youth wrestling coaches send us your meet results to editor@oursentinel.com.

Other area basketball scores

Uni-High girls defeated Arthur-Okaw Christian, 41-21.

St. Joseph-Ogden football players earn all-conference recognition

Joe Frasca boots and extra point during SJO's home game against Rantoul. The sophomore earned all-conference honorable mention for his efforts during the 2021 season.
Last week, St. Joseph-Ogden football player Tyler Burch earned First Team recognition from the Illini Prairie Conference. The junior defensive back was the only Spartan named to the top team.

Seven other SJO football players also receive recognition this season.

Conrad Miller (Lineman), Keaton Nolan (Running Back), and Griffin Roesch (Wide Receiver) were named on Second Team offense.

Lineman Owen Birt, linebacker Coby Miller and Ethan Vanliew at defensive back made the cut for Second Team defense.

Sophomore Joe Frasca, who handled kicking duties for SJO, earn honorable mention.

Correction: When this story was originally published it said Tyler Burch was a senior. The story was changed to reflect his actual status as a junior at St. Joseph-Ogden.
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Rockets improve to 14-0, shock Spartans with road win

Unity remains undefeated

(Left to right) Unity's Macie Knudsen, Gracie Renfrow, Maddie Reed and Katey Moore celebrate the team's 2-0 win over host St. Joseph-Ogden. The Rockets remain undefeated at 14-0 under new head coach Erika Yerry after beating the Spartans, 25-13, 25-21. More photos coming soon. Here is a recap from this exciting match.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
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Prep Sports Notebook: SJO, Rockets add another win to their record.

Unity bounces back

With 16 points to her credit, Taylor Henry dropped points in all four quarters of the Rockets home game against Monticello on Monday. The senior was also credited with six rebounds as Unity picked up the conference win, 37-34.

Raegen Stringer delivered three assists and racked up four steals as the team's second-leading scorer with eight points.

Producing just a single free throw, Katey Moore led the Rockets' rebounding effort with seven boards to break a three-game skid.

Mboyo-Meta leads Tigers' scoring effort

Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta scored 11 points in Urbana's 64-29 loss at home to Champaign Central. The junior was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.

Destiny Barber had 8 points and Jasmine McCollough scored seven in the Big 12 Conference loss rounding out the top three scorers for the Tigers.

Spartans notch 20th win

It didn't take long for first-year St. Joseph-Ogden head coach Drew Artega to notch his first 20-win season. The Spartan girls basketball team ended the conference season with a 50-28 win at home over Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

Draining four treys for SJO, Peyton Jones turned in a 16-point game-high performance on Monday. Addison Frick, who was 2-for-3 from the charity stripe, also finished in double-digits with 10 points. Senior Ella Armstrong chipped in another six.

Lorena Arnett spearheaded the Panthers' scoring effort with 8 points. The senior converted on all four trips to the free-throw line.

SJO boys win road game

The St. Joseph-Ogden boys basketball team still have their magic touch. The Spartans toppling Bloomington Central Catholic on the road 73-61 to earn their 19th victory of the season.

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Basketball Player of the Week

February 21 - 27, 2021

Sentinel basketball player of the week February 1-6, 2021

~ Boys ~

Blake Kimball

Unity

Kimball dropped an impressive 30 points on Paxton-Buckley-Loda in Unity's 54-57 back on February 20. While he only collected 10 points in the Rockets seven-point victory over Olympia, he was instrumental attracting attention to get teammates into open scoring positions.


Honorable Mention:
Austin Langendorf, Unity
Evan Ingram, SJO
Jackson Rydell, SJO

~ Girls ~

Taylor Henry

Unity

The Rockets leading rebounder recorded a double-double performance in her team's conference game against Prairie Central. Two days later against Olympia, Henry scored 11 points and added another eight rebounds and three steals to her season stats.


Honorable Mention:
Atleigh Hamilton, SJO
Payton Vallee, SJO
Katey Moore, Unity

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Sentinel 2021-22 All-Area girls basketball team

Welcome to the Sentinel's 2022 All-Area Girls' Basketball Team. Our list is a compilation of the best players from three of the four area high school programs we cover.

Among the top 15 players selected for the first and second teams, four are from the Class of 2023, and three are sophomores who we expect to rise to prominence this fall.

The performances of our first-team members were the cornerstones to each of their team's success this season. These player's leadership, commitment, and contributions on offensive or defensive was key to earning a spot on this year's Sentinel All-Area Girls Basketball Team.


Sentinel All-Area First Team
St Joseph-Ogden basketball player Payton Jacob         Unity's Maddie Reed

Lauren Miller from Unity         Urbana's Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta

SJO's Taylor Wells         Unity's Taylor Henry

St Joseph-Ogdent's Ella Armstrong


First Team

Ella Armstrong, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Taylor Henry, Senior
Unity

Payton Jacob, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta, Junior
Urbana

Lauren Miller, Junior
Unity

Maddie Reed, Senior
Unity

Taylor Wells, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Second Team

Destiny Barber, Junior
Urbana

Zineria Edwards, Senior
Urbana

Addison Frick, Sophomore
St. Joseph-Ogden

Peyton Jones, Junior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Ashlyn Lannert, Senior
St. Joseph-Ogden

Katey Moore, Sophomore
Unity

Raegan Stringer, Sophomore
Unity

Erika Steinman, Senior
Unity

Honorable Mention

St. Joseph-Ogden:
Alyssa Hamilton (Sr), Alison Kearney (Sr), Kaytlyn Baker (Jr)

Unity:
Hailey Flesch (Sr), Gracie Renfrow (Sr), Savannah Alagna (Sr), Calli Chandler (Sr), Bridget Henry (Sr), Addison Ray (So)

Urbana:
Amarah Howard (Sr), McKenzie Sprague (Jr), Teri Hall (So), Savannah Blanden (So)


Editor's Note:

A Certificate of Recognition is available for each of the players listed above. Players, coaches, or parents/guardians can email us at sports@oursentinel.com to receive their 2021-22 certificate.

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Prep Sports Notebook: SJO, Unity open girls basketball season with victories


SJO wins season opener

St. Joseph-Ogden's Abby Behrens attacks the basket while Urbana's McKenzie Sprague guards her during their Toyota of Danville Turkey Tournament game on Monday. The tournament opener was also the first game of the season for both teams. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


St. Joseph, IL - Ashlyn Lannert scored 11 points to lead the Spartans in their 55-8 win over the Urbana Tigers at the First Annual Toyota of Danville Turkey Tournament at St. Joseph-Ogden High School on Monday. Payton Jacob added another 10 points while Taylor Wells hit three second-quarter field goals and one in the first to start the season off with eight points in the season opener.

The Tigers' leading scorer was junior Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta with four free throws. Destiny Barber, who hit the team's only field goal, finished with two points. Mc Kenzie Sprague and Zineria Edwards each made one free throw to round out Urbana's scoring effort.

St. Joseph-Ogden takes Tri-County on Tuesday, while Urbana will face Big 12 rival Centennial on day 2 of the tournament.


Henry starts 2021-22 season with a double-double

Fisher, IL - Unity cruised to a 52-22 win behind Taylor Henry, who delivered an 18 points, 11 rebound performance in Unity's first game of the season over at the Lady Falcon/Bunnie Tip-Off Classic on Monday. The senior scored all by one of her points in the second and third quarters against Fisher.

Starting at forward, Katey Moore scored nine points in the first quarter and added two more in the third period to finish with 11 points and seven boards.



Unity football players earn All-State recognition

Wide receiver Dillon Rutledge and defensive lineman Austin McDaniel were named to the 2021 IHSFCA Class 3A All-State team.

The pair will be in action again this Saturday in Unity's home semifinal against Mt. Carmel. Kick-off is at 2pm.

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Prep Sports Notebook: Urbana boys and girls drop games, SJO picks up win

Edwards leads Tigers in non-conference loss

Zineria Edwards scored seven second-half points to lead Urbana's scoring effort in the road game at the Arthur "Buz" Sievers Center at Monticello on Monday. Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta added another five points in the last half of the game in the 57-17 loss.

SJO's Jones scores 14

Junior guard Peyton Jones hit a pair of treys in the second on her way to a game-high 14 points in St. Joseph-Ogden's 55-42 win over visiting Tuscola.

Alyssa Hamilton came off the bench for an 11-point finish in the non-conference contest. The senior shot 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Ella Armstrong and Payton Jacob each chipped in seven points apiece.

Unity suffers first loss of the season

A second-quarter drought dug a hole too deep for the Rockets to climb back in their 38-20 loss in the Rocket Center to Clinton (4-1).

The Unity (4-1) offensive effort was limited to three players. Taylor Henry led the team with 12 points and sophomore Reagen Stringer finished with six points. Katey Moore's first-quarter field goal rounded out the Rockets' effort.

Clinton was led by Mallory Cyrulik's 23 point performance. The senior was sent to the free-throw line 22 times and converted on 17 attempts.

SJO basketball tournament starts tonight

Boys hoops action starts tonight at the annual The Toyota of Danville Classic at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. Six of the eight teams in the tournament begin pool play for the 2021 title starting this evening.

This evening's lineup includes:

5:00 PM: Danville Schlarman vs. Oakwood
6:30 PM: LaSalette vs. Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond
8:00 PM: Cissna Park vs. SJO

The tournament ends on Saturday with the championship game starting at 8pm.

Other area sports scores:

Arcola 64 - Uni-High 54

Southeast 75 - Urbana 70

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Photos: Sentinel/Clark Brooks